All we missed were buttons to cycle through the DVD player's angle and repeat options. ![]() We like the one-touch DVD/VHS dubbing buttons, which we don't typically see on a remote, and the prominent VHS and DVD buttons, which select the deck you're controlling. Its Menu and Setting controls surround the large five-way navigational keypad, while the play/pause/stop, chapter-skip, fast-forward, and reverse controls sit just above. The Panasonic DMR-ES40V's remote may not be pretty, but it gets the job done with a minimum of confusion. Behind a small flip-down door on the unit's bottom right is a FireWire input for quick and easy DV-camcorder hookups. Flip open the small, gray panel on the left side of the deck, and you'll find a set of A/V inputs, including S-Video, as well as fast-forward/reverse controls for the VCR. It has a threaded circular dubbing control on the right side, while play/record/channel-select buttons for the VHS and DVD decks flank the LED display. The silver Panasonic DMR-ES40V looks reasonably slick for a DVD/VHS combo recorder. If you don't mind the lack of easy skipping, however, the Panasonic DMR-ES40V-competitively priced at $300-has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, one key annoyance remains: the DMR-ES40V won't automatically add chapter stops to your recordings-a deal breaker for anyone who wants to skip easily through the DVDs they've recorded. The new model is the same as its predecessor except for two important upgrades: it adds a DV input for easy camcorder dubbing, and it offers common VHS and DVD output through a single set of S-Video and component-video outputs. The company did some quick retooling at the factory and has since released the Panasonic DMR-ES40V. ![]() Panasonic's DMR-ES30V was a capable DVD/VHS combo recorder that offered impressive video-recording quality but dropped the ball on a couple of important convenience features.
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